Incinerators of the type used in small commercial or industrial establishments, such as nursing homes, restaurants, food stores, and the like, often include a feeding mechanism which enables the waste material to be fed into a feed opening in the end wall of the incinerator. One common form of feeding mechanism includes a feed chute which is mounted on a movable cart. The cart is moved into position so that the end of the feed chute is aligned with the feed door in the incinerator, and the waste within the chute is then pushed along the chute and into the feed opening through use of a manual or automatic pusher mechanism.
The waste or litter to be burned is often contained in plastic bags. As the bags approach the incinerator on the feed chute, the heat will melt the plastic bags causing the waste to be distributed in the chute and making the feeding operation more difficult.
In a conventional starved air incinerator, a pocket of combustible gas often forms in the top of the combustion chamber. When the feed door is opened, oxygen enters the combustion chamber and the resulting combustion of the pocket of gas often results in flames being blasted out of the feed door to endanger the operator.
In most conventional installations, the incinerator has a relatively small feed opening with the result that larger items, such as wooden pallets, have to be broken up by the operator before they can be introduced into the combustion chamber.